Nagambie go down in thrilling GMC Women’s grand final against Mooroopna

With that said, another perfect home and away campaign with a resounding win in the semis could have threatened to be their undoing all the same, having fallen over when it mattered most last season.

There were demons to exorcise for Mooroopna, to be sure, but having elected to bowl, confidence had to be high early given a recent string of low totals to chase down.

Nagambie wasn’t here to be an also-ran, though, and the opening duo of Kayla Shepherd and Amber Langham made a professional start to proceedings in the middle.

Once Charlie Nicholson knocked over the latter’s stumps, Lakers captain Kait Carracher took it upon herself to deliver a masterclass that left Cats bowlers and fielders in a rare position of adversity.

On went the fireworks as Carracher mashed eight fours and the day’s only maximum to put Nagambie in cruise control early in the second half of its innings before walking off on her own terms.

On a week where Kayla Shepherd and Breanna Davison earned individual plaudits from the league — the latter claiming the overall best-and-fairest award — Carracher rubber-stamped her name among the best on the biggest stage.

The Cats were able to wrest a degree of control back down the stretch, though, as Nicholson and Lauren Hall saluted with two apiece, while a rare diamond duck involving Sarah Villinger earned Mooroopna some reprieve as well.

The girls in blue got themselves set to chase 133 for glory, with Hall and Ebony Sleeth digging in.

Much like its adversaries, Mooroopna had a powder keg ready to blow at first drop as the always-reliable Gemma Boyd took centre stage once Hall was sent on her way.

Boyd, who was only just short of the league batting title in her own right, went in and showed out with seven fours on her way to a typical team-high 42, though she did match up against some inspired and restrictive Shepherd bowling on occasion.

Though the unbeaten side was a heavy favourite with a handful of overs to go, the Lakers were able to inch their way in bit by bit.

Oh, how the twists and turns unfolded.

Sleeth and Kelsey McDonald found themselves back on the sidelines less than an over apart and Kelsey Abbott would respond to an Amani Issell boundary by clean-bowling her on 10 a short time later.

There were doubts.

Mooroopna’s healthy throng of observers had rumblings of unease, doubtless confronted with memories of where it went wrong a year earlier, and the run rate continued to slow after Boyd retired.

Mia Earl provided the desperately needed spark late on when the run rate actually briefly crept above a run a ball, slamming back-to-back boundaries to ease the tension.

It all started to look like it might swing the other way once again when Carracher put herself on a hat-trick by removing Earl and popping Ava Wood back into her hands in the penultimate over, but resolute calmness would see the Cats over the line as Nicholson steadied to win it with a four.

It was a grand contest, one more than fitting of such a stage and such a pair of sides as these two put up all season long.